FAMAE 540 FAQ: Why its cool, and you should own one

dannyair said:
Could you please post a pic of the stock not folded (as in straight) or possibly a top down view to see how straight it is in-line with the receiver and barrel? That would be super helpful as the original stock is terrible and I would like a replacement also. Probably most of would.
Click to expand...

Not much point, the stock is just placed for a picture, an adapter would need to be made and that could put it at any height.
Ideally I think the best position would put it folding right under the ejection port - which would put the unfolded stock pretty much inline with the barrel.

I think it'd work really good.
 
tq1YEUl.jpg
 
Broke down and grabbed an OG SG542 from the original batch. Figured it was now or never. For those of us that missed out on all of the Cold War rifles that went prohibited a long time ago, this feels like it's going to scratch that itch. I get that the Bren and the X95 are light years ahead technology/materials/accuracy-wise, for me they just don't have that FAL/G3 nostalgia factor that the OG SG542 has.

Now, to find some spare mags :)
 
Pewpew! Mounted accessories, an EOTECH 522 Holographic optic sight, Magpul flip-up iron sights, and an aftermarket GSdesigns ACR stock adapter. The adapter has held up to heavy use and the ACR stock is a big improvement to life upgrade for any SG540 owner.

unnamed.jpg
 

Attachments

  • unnamed.jpg
    unnamed.jpg
    31.5 KB · Views: 228
Does anyone else find the magazine catch very sharp and causes magazines to jam up when changing?

Might take a file to it and round it over a bit
 
lone-wolf said:
Does anyone else find the magazine catch very sharp and causes magazines to jam up when changing?

Might take a file to it and round it over a bit
Click to expand...

The same issue exists on the OG 540. You have to activate the mag catch twice in order to remove a synthetic magazine - the first press rocks the mag half-ways out where it sticks until you press a second time. Rounding the sharp edge should solve the problem, but I haven't gone there yet with mine.
 
Bartok5 said:
The same issue exists on the OG 540. You have to activate the mag catch twice in order to remove a synthetic magazine - the first press rocks the mag half-ways out where it sticks until you press a second time. Rounding the sharp edge should solve the problem, but I haven't gone there yet with mine.
Click to expand...

Can confirm. I rounded out the edges on all of my 540 mags and it solved the problem.
 
The most proficient way to change a mag is activate the mag release with the trigger finger while knocking out the mag with the left hand.
See this video starting at 2:23.
With this method, it wouldn't matter if there's a "double click" when removing a mag since the mag release is activated forward all the way by the trigger finger the entire time of the brisk removal of the mag.


Also, for a Swiss military demonstration of the similar technique they use in their training:

 
Last edited:
My SIG 550 doesn't suffer from the "sticky mag" issue like my SG 540 does. My SIG also has a relatively soft Magazine Catch Spring that permits Trigger Finger depression sufficient to cleanly release a mag. Not so my FAMAE SG 540, which has a discernably stiffer Magazine Catch Spring that defies my weak and inadequate Trigger Finger. There is no way that I can hyper-extend the Mag Catch on the SG 540 with my Trigger Finger, and it must be hyper-extended to get a clean release with one press of the Mag Catch lever. I really think that the answer for the SG 540 lies in rounding out the sharp edges on the polymer mags as B-Wingpilot did to eliminate the need for "double clutching" (as Lone-Wolf so aptly dubbed it).

Speaking of Lone-Wolf, he turned me on to PR Precision who operate just down the road from me in Whitecourt, AB. Paul the proprietor designed and manufactured the SG540/542 Buttstock Adapter for the Zhukov Buttstock. I wanted to give one a try, so was very pleased to find that Paul had a few already machined and ready to ship for $150 plus GST and shipping ($178.50 all-in). I now have one enroute and will CeraKote it Armoury Black after it arrives. I haven't decided whether I want the Zhukov Buttstock on my SG 540 or my SAF .40 S&W. I reckon I will try it on both and keep it ono whichever I prefer. I may just go crazy and let one of my two OEM FAMAE Wire Folding Stocks go if I like the Zhukov form and function enough to keep it.

Thanks again to Lone-Wolf for the lead on PR Precision. If anyone else is looking to do the Zhukov folding stock on their SG 540/542, I recommend contacting PR Precision before too long. I'm not sure how many more adapters Paul has done up, nor do I know if he is planning to make more. So, if you want one now would be the time to act.

And thanks to Colin L for those most recent videos. I particularly enjoyed the Swiss training film!
 
Would like to see how the adapter looks when cerakoted

I rounded off my magazine catch and it seems to have helped with the magazine change. It was really sharp and gouging the magazines.
I could use my trigger finger to change magazines but it's not the easiest with the stiff spring in there. I was considering asking PR Precision to take on another project, the magazine release lever but with an extended back portion to put it in easier reach of the trigger finger - kind of like the old vz58 releases that came out years ago.
Lack of money to put into it kept me from floating the idea to them.

Another issue I've seen others have, and I am having at times, is the magazine catch being activated too early and catching the bolt carrier, causing a halfway stoppage.
Seems to be only with the clear 5/30rnd magazines so far.

On the plus side, with a 2moa red dot, it seems to print respectable groups for an old and crude semi auto
 
lone-wolf said:
Would like to see how the adapter looks when cerakoted... ...On the plus side, with a 2moa red dot, it seems to print respectable groups for an old and crude semi auto
Click to expand...

My SG 540 consistently prints 2 MOA using bulk PMC 55 gr ammo, sighted with a Vortex Strike Eagle SFP 1-8x LPVO. That is as good as I was able to get out of my G36 when I owned it, although the heavy mil-spec trigger may have had some negative influence on those groups. Still, 2 MOA seems to be about par for the course with modern 5.56/.223 military-style semi-automatic sporting rifles. The only one that seemed to do a bit better (if memory serves) was my Swissarms SIG 550, which can group just over 1 MOA with Swiss GP90 (service) ammo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom